


Childhood Living Is Easy To Do

by threemeows



Series: Wild Horses [3]
Category: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series - Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Genre: Whoop Whoop, i thought of this while making crockpot dinner lmao, super quick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 01:32:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16419881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threemeows/pseuds/threemeows
Summary: "You don't even post about us on your Instagram!"Peter forces the issue that's been nagging him forever.





	Childhood Living Is Easy To Do

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the same universe of my other works - so, movie-verse with book-verse thrown in here and there. You don't have to read them to get what's going on, at least I don't think? But, for reference, this takes place a couple of months after my fic, And Now You Decided To Show Me The Same, but before Graceless Lady.

“So ... how _come_ you don’t post about us on Instagram?”

 

“Huh?” Lara Jean is so startled by this out of left field question that she looks up and a thick ribbon of lemon zest frosting ends up spiraling half onto the granite counter top, half onto the cupcake, instead of beautifully arrayed in an artful swirl on a moist, cloud-like bed of chocolatey goodness.

 

Lara Jean’s camera clicks. “Dammit!” Peter says. “Sorry. Uh, do it again?”

 

“Peter!” she whines as she tries to dab at the cupcake with a paper towel and Peter grabs a rag to wipe the counter top.

 

“Sorry sorry, we’ll ... uh ... do it again. Make it perfect. You know. For Instagram.”

 

Lara Jean eyes him, quizzical, as she tries to salvage the cupcake. He’d stopped by just as she was finishing up the cupcakes - she’d just wanted a snap to go on her Instagram. He’d offered to help. She’s not sure why this is a question, all of a sudden.

 

“It’s just Instagram,” she says. “It’s going under my baking hashtag.”

 

“Yeah of course,” he says. “Those are your cupcakes. But what about us?”

 

She can feel her brows knit. _I don’t get it._ “We don’t have a hashtag.”

 

“Yeah.” Peter says in a “duh” tone of a voice. “So why don’t we? On your Instagram?”

 

“Do we? On yours?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

 _Really?_ He doesn’t post all that often – like maybe once or twice a week – but she honestly hadn’t noticed. Sure, she’ll like them all – and she’ll even post a kissing emoji sometimes. Like yesterday’s one of them hanging out at Greg’s. It was a nice one, a selfie of him kissing her temple, both of them half-laughing. _What’s the big deal?_

 

Lara Jean shifts on her feet, uncomfortable. “Are we fighting again?” she asks. They haven’t fought since they got back together, after that whole Gen and John Ambrose McClaren debacle. It’s been a really great, wonderful summer. Are they really going to fight over Instagram of all things?

 

“Huh? No. No no no. I was - you know what, forget it. Let’s just get this picture done.” Peter lifts her phone for her, but instead of posing with the piping bag and a cute smile, Lara Jean just purses her lips at him, contemplative. “Covey? Come on.”

 

“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?” she muses.

 

“What? No.” Lara Jean puts down the piping bag and crosses her arms - looks at him with what he calls her judgey face. Peter sighs and puts down her phone. “Okay. Fine. Am I ugly? Do I have, like, spots on my face or something? Or is it the scar? Because you choose the right filter and it clears right up – ”

 

Lara Jean, giggling, darts to his side and wraps her arms around his waist. He squeezes her around the shoulders. “That’s not really it, is it?” she murmurs into his chest.

 

He pauses, then kisses the top of her head. “Promise no judgment?”

 

She holds up a pinky. He gives her a look like _You are so ridiculous_ but she waggles her finger at him and raises her eyebrows. Peter rolls his eyes, good-natured, and curls his pinky around hers and they tug.

 

She pushes off him and leans against the island. “Spill.”

 

Peter spreads his hands wide, helpless. “Okay. Well. I guess I kinda got used to - well, I got used to Gen. _No judgment!!!_ ”

 

Lara Jean just barely clamps down on the very strong urge to raise her eyebrows right off of her forehead. She had been truthful to Peter the night they made up and got back together - Gen doesn’t bother her anymore. And she trusts him.

 

But, still. She’s entitled to be surprised, right? So she presses her lips together and nods. “Go on.”

 

Peter blows out a relieved sigh. “Okay. She kinda had this thing. Everything had to go on Instagram. Which. Is.” He shakes his head.

 

Lara Jean supplies, helpfully, “Annoying?”

 

“Yeah. Everything went on there. Every day.” He shudders. “But also - it’s like I went on a complete 180. You only post your outfits and your baking. Sometimes your family, something you saw that looks cool. At first, I thought, ‘Great! No pressure.’ But now, I’m, like, wondering ...” Peter shrugs at her, gives an embarrassed half-smile. “Like literally, you ashamed of me or something?”

 

Lara Jean snorts a giggle through her hand. “I post about you,” she insists, grabbing her phone and tapping on Instagram. “See? Look.” They’d gone on a double date with Darrell’s girlfriend two weeks ago - the girl who transferred at the end of junior year, Pammy. It’s a group selfie at the movies, with all of them making funny faces. Peter’s arm is slung over Lara Jean’s shoulders and she’s cross-eyed and laughing.

 

“Yeah, that doesn’t count,” he says, dismissive. “You couldn’t tell we’re dating from that.”

 

“You need to be able to tell?”

 

“ _Yes!_ Duh!”

 

Lara Jean giggles and makes sure the island is clear before jumping onto the edge. “Why?” Peter looks at her as if she’s nuts. Something in her memory stirs - almost a year ago. Which is totally bananas if she thinks about it - that she’s been with him (counting fake dating and not counting break up from fake dating and break up from actual dating) for almost a year. “Is this why you got so mad? Back when we were fake dating?” He’d told her he’d been mad, but because he’d caught her talking with Josh. “Oh my god. Is it so you can, like, mark your territory or something?”

 

“Ugh, don’t put it that way ... “ Peter makes an annoyed, disgusted face, but then adds, sheepish, “Yeah. Kind of?”

 

Lara Jean hoots with laughter and leans over to slap his shoulder. “I can’t believe you!”

 

He catches her hands before they can make contact, stepping closer. “Oh, so you’re telling me you’d be totally okay with me getting rid of all my posts of you on Instagram? Let every girl out there think I’m single?”

 

She purses her lips to the side. Ugh. When he puts it _that_ way ...

 

“Ah! See!” He grins, puts her hands on his shoulders, steps forward so he’s between her legs.

 

She shifts closer so she can wind her arms around his neck. “I don’t do it on purpose,” she says, serious now. “Before - when we were fake dating - part of that really was because I didn’t want Margot to see.”

 

“Yeah, I get that. Well, now at least,” he says. He drops a kiss on the corner of her mouth she shivers - she can feel, rather than see, his self-satisfied little smirk. “What was the other part?”

 

“The other part ...” Lara Jean shrugs, trying to find the words. _Well, he was honest with me. Might as well return the favor._ “I thought you were always gonna leave. We’d eventually tear up the contract, go our separate ways. I didn’t want that reminder of you.” He tightens his grip on her waist and she shifts even closer, resting her face on his shoulder. “When we started dating for real - I kinda thought it was ... I was just still insecure. You know all that. I think in the back of my mind I was still thinking that you’d go. And then we ... well, you know.”

 

She feels him nod. “And now?”

 

She pulls away slightly. “Now? No. I don’t feel any of that.” She kisses the tip of his nose. “I think I just got used to not posting about you. It’s as simple as that.”

 

Peter snorts. They look at each other for a long time - she can feel her heart pool into something warm, sliding deep into her belly, at the way his gaze has gone soft. Sometimes, it honestly makes her go breathless. Lara Jean doesn’t know who leans in first, but they’re kissing now, lightly, teasingly, slowly - and that’s all that she cares about now.

 

His hand has trailed underneath the hem of her tank top - up her stomach, her hitching ribs. His thumb skims the underside of her breast, right before the gentle upward curve. “Can - can I?” he murmurs between kisses, against her mouth.

 

She’s trembling, full of heat, nerves - they haven’t done this since the tree house, a long time ago. They’re in the freaking kitchen. He’s leaning right up against her - pressed against her, so close - and she whimpers into his mouth, “Y-yes – ” even as she hooks her leg around him.

 

Peter groans and slides his hand up, underneath her bra. Lara Jean bites down on his bottom lip, gasping.

 

From the front door, loud footsteps bang on the porch. They pull away as if scalded. “Fair warning!” Dad calls from the porch. As Lara Jean hops down from the island, flushed, she can hear Dad set down his briefcase and fumble with his keys, all over-loudly. “I see a certain Jeep in front, and no signs of my youngest being home, so I will take a very long time to get into the house so certain young folk can _not_ be embarrassed by my early arrival home from probably the fastest delivery I’ve personally recorded. Under 3 hours, in case you’re curious.” A pause. “Everything all right?”

 

“Hey Daddy,” Lara Jean says, as he opens the door.

 

“Afternoon, sweetheart. Hi, Peter.”

 

“Hi Dr. C,” Peter says, pleasantly, from the island stool, pretending to be thoroughly engrossed with Candy Crush. _How can he look so unbothered?_ she wonders, dazed. She can barely stand straight.

 

“Oooo. What cupcakes are these?” Dad says. His phone starts to buzz. “Ah, the hospital again. Sit tight.” He heads to his office, already on the line with the nurse.

 

“You want to stay for dinner?” Lara Jean asks, once her heart has stopped racing.

 

“Nah, can’t. My aunt’s in town tonight.” He stands up, hands over her phone. “But before I go ...”

 

She grins at him and takes it - leans up on her tiptoes and presses a firm kiss on the side of his mouth, hits the red button.

 

“Ugh this one is horrible,” Peter whines. “Do it again.”

 

It takes several more tries but eventually they settle on one where his hair isn’t everywhere or her chin isn’t doing something funny. A nice, Valencia-filtered one of Peter nuzzling her cheek, both of their eyes closed. She posts it and tags him, and adds, _summer baking sesh with the boy done_ , and even adds the hashtag #bae.

 

“For future reference,” she giggles, tapping his face lightly with her phone.

 

He laughs and puts the phone aside, then leans over and kisses her deeply, but they’re interrupted by successive ping after ping of notifications, including one from Kitty.

 

 _kittymeowcovey: Gross_.

 

-End-

 


End file.
